Ode to Ansel – Half Dome Highlights selected to be Exhibited in Athens, Greece

Shots By Dubbs Photography is please to share that our photo, “Yosemite No. 002 – Ode to Ansel – Half Dome Highlights” was selected to be exhibited at the Blank Wall Gallery in Athens, Greece February 28 through March 1, 2020.


I have been playing the game GuruShots for a few months now and have been hesitant to enter any of the exhibition contests. When playing the game each contest is run by someone who has achieved the rank of Guru in the game. The contest I entered was called, the beauty of the earth and ended on December 5, 2019. The way the game works the Guru gets to make a limited number of “Guru Picks” and those photos that get picked are automatically selected to be included in the upcoming exhibit. There were 33,760 photographers competing in this contest. That means that there were a little over 135k photos entered into the contest since each photographer was required to enter four images.

Quite unexpectedly, on Sunday, December 1st I received several exciting yesterday saying my photo “Half Dome Highlights” was selected as a Guru Pick and as such was automatically qualified to be exhibited in Athens, Greece. โœˆ๏ธ

I received another email informing me that as a result of having a photo selected as a “Guru’s Pick” I also advanced in the game from the Expert Level to the Champion level. I have two more levels to achieve before I too can be a Guru and start running my own contests in the game. The next level for me is “Master” and then “Guru” level photographer.


This #photography journey was especially encouraged by scores of friends and family and I must thank Wendy Cabil๐Ÿ’š and Lexi KP ๐Ÿ’š for being extra enthusiastic ๐ŸŽ‰ in their support and Elias Benudiz for being a great patron ๐Ÿ’ช๐Ÿฝ of our #fineartcollection! A special nod to Amber Porter Telfer for being the first person to ever to make a query about the availability of one of my images, “Simon Says” over a decade ago and planting a seed of possibility, (you never forget your first time. ๐Ÿค—๐Ÿคญ)

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step๐Ÿ‘ฃ, this year we took that first solid step on the photography path… Be encouraged, onward and upward with an attitude of #gratitude.

“The Beauty of the Earth” Photographer Week Magazine Photo Contest

Last week I joined the photography game #gurushots and entered a contest to have one of my photos published in #photographerweekmagazine. Which of the four pictures that I submitted do you think is the best depiction of the #beautyoftheearth?

My personal favorite ๐Ÿ“ธ is B. I love the clarity captured and the almost hidden minute sense of moment with the two people swimming in the surf. ๐Ÿ”ฅ๐Ÿ”ฅ!!!

Which is your favorite๐Ÿฅ‡?

A.

“Local On A Road Less Traveled” ยฉ 2017๐Ÿ“ธ: Nikon Coolpix B500, ISO 125, 4mm, f/3.0, 1/500 sec, handheld, edited in Lightroom CC using @photoserge tutorial.

Location: Southern Tahiti, somewhere near Papara, in French Polynesia

B.

“The Two Hidden Swimmers” ยฉ 2017

๐Ÿ“ธ: Nikon Coolpix B500, ISO 125, 4mm, f/3.0, 1/640 sec, handheld
๐Ÿ“ Edited in Adobe Lightroom CC
Location: Tahiti, French Polynesia

C.

“Bora Bora Silhouette” – ยฉ 2017

๐Ÿ“ธ: LG G6, ISO 50, 2.01mm, f/2.4, 1/1000 sec, handheld, edited in #LightroomCC
Location: Bora Bora, French Polynesia

D.

“Purple Dawn Over Surf City” ยฉ 2018

๐Ÿ“ธ: LG G6
2.01mm | Iso 200 | f/2.4 | 1/25 sec
๐Ÿ“ Edited in Adobe Lightroom CC
Location: Huntington Beach Pier, Huntington, Beach, California, USA

Photo Filters and Auto-Correct Don’t Get You “Pro Look” Results

Last month, I was out and I spotted this young man living his best life whilst enjoying the sunset while on vacation in Laguna Beach, CA. He struck a classic tree pose as he stood king ๐Ÿ‘‘ of the rock. His friends didn’t get the ๐Ÿ“ธ, however, as you can see, Dubbs clicked it. A timeless frame capturing the exhilarated spirit. I chose to use the auto-correct feature in Abobe Photoshop Express on my phone.

Below is the finished image that I posted on IG:

A Tree on a Cliff ยฉ 2019
A Tree on a Cliff ยฉ 2019

๐Ÿ“ธ: Canon Rebel T6, ISO 800, 29mm, f/7.1, 1/200 sec, Yunteng monopod, auto-corrected in Photoshop Express.
Location: Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, CA, USA

#classic #vacation #bestlife #timeless #strikeapose #sunset #lagunabeach #photography #shotsbydubbs #treepose #pacificocean


I grabbed a few additional frames of the same gentleman and opted to apply the new techniques I acquired from Serge Ramelli’s Photo Sergeยฎ tutorial on Adobe Lightroom CC. I believe the results show a night and day difference.

Below is the frame I edited using Lightroom:

"King of the Mountain" ยฉ 2019
“King of the Mountain” ยฉ 2019

๐Ÿ“ธ: Canon Rebel T6, ISO 800, 35mm, f/5.6, 1/200 sec, Yunteng monopod, edited in Lightroom CC.
Location: Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, CA, USA

#photojournalist
#shotsbydubbs #photography #landscapephotography
#travelphotography #sunset #pinksky #clouds #rocks #pacificocean #heislerpark #lagunabeach #kingofthemountain #vacationmemories


So, which of these two photos do you think looks more like a “professional” photograph?

The Photograph Only Begins at the Snap

Here is my first finished product from my modern day darkroom:

Local on a Road Less Traveled
“Local on a Road Less Traveled”

What I have come to understand is that what makes a great photograph only begins when we snap the shutter on our cameras. The real magic used to take place in dark rooms where artists worked their magic manipulating negatives before they developed their works. Nowadays, in the digital era folks flock to Adobe products like Photoshop and Lightroom to produce modern works of photographic art. So I entered in the post-production era of my photography with the assistance of a course that I purchased back in 2017 from Serge Ramelli and decided to finally put it to use.

I choose a photo that I thought had a lot of potential from a private tour back in 2017 around the southern portion on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia. This particular photo was taken around sunset as we pulled over by the side of the road to take in the beauty.

๐Ÿ“ธ:Nikon Coolpix B500, ISO 125, 4mm, f/3.0, 1/500 sec, handheld, edited in Lightroom CC.
Location: Southern Tahiti, somewhere near Papara, in French PolynesiaPhotoGrid_1554873236485-picsay

After following the step-by-step tutorial where Serge showed me how to clean up all the elements you see above I am excited to dive into my deep catalog of photographs and start applying and fine tuning my newly acquired Adobe Lightroom skills.

Who have you found to be exceptional resources for editing your photographs? Share in the comments below.

Today Our Journey Begins

Yesterday, I had the joy of catching the beautiful spring scenes from above the Dana Point Harbor.ย  I am in the process of learning to shoot my new Canon T6 and was using the standard 18mm-55mm lens that comes with this camera.ย  I broke the landscape photography rules by shooting these handheld as opposed to utilizing a tripod, (rookie.)ย  Learning to manipulate the manual settings and getting off of the auto controls.ย  Here are a couple of my favorite shots from yesterday after some basic edits in Adobe Lightroom CC.

 

โ€œOne of the things I love most about a photograph is that it never changes, even when the things and/or the people in it do.โ€ย 

~ Don West, Jr.

 

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Shot No.1 – “Wildflowers’ View”

๐Ÿ“ธ: Canon T6, 18-55mm f/10.0 at 1/250 second, ISO-100, handheld, edited in Adobe Lightroom CC. April 7, 2019

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Shot No. 2 – “Harbor Traffic”

๐Ÿ“ธ: Canon T6, 18-55mm f/8.0 at 1/320 second, ISO-100, handheld, edited in Adobe Lightroom CC.ย  April 7, 2019

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Shot No. 3 – “Historical Landmark No 189”

๐Ÿ“ธ: Canon T6, 18-55mm f/8.0 at 1/160 second, ISO-100, handheld, edited in Adobe Lightroom CC.ย  April 7, 2019